May Letter

Three years ago I launched Project Get Out. Today, there are over 2,699 creations, 19 worlds, and an average daily production without breaks. But this story didn't begin with success. It began with doubt, criticism, and a decision not to stop.

We’ve reached May, and I decided to celebrate this date a little early. May 22nd, 2023 was one of the best and worst days of my journey as a creator. Since then, more than 1,071 days have passed.

That was the day I released Project Get Out, a mod with a simple yet significantly transformative idea: to make the world of The Sims 3 feel more alive. By changing the way Sims move and make decisions, I didn’t create something entirely new. I simply revealed a behavior that already existed, but was hidden within the game’s own logic.

Suddenly, the city stopped being a backdrop and started acting like an organism, just as I had always envisioned. The truth is, I spent years waiting for someone to do this. No one did. So somehow, I did.

While part of the community celebrated, another part reacted with rejection and skepticism. The source of that tension wasn’t really the idea itself, but the fact that we were using one of Arsil’s mods to complement the vision we had. The mod was called “Leave Home Ain’t Easy.”

At the time, I was exchanging messages with my friend MathModder. He was working on a mod that allowed butterflies to fly freely around the neighborhood instead of being tied to a spawner.

Math wasn’t just a witness to this process. Much of what I learned to bring Project Get Out to life was thanks to him. I would ask: “Math, is there any file where I can change the distance at which Sims choose to use a car instead of walking?” And he would reply: “Yes, there is. It’s this one.” And little by little, a new world began to unfold before my eyes: the realization that small edits in XML and ITUN files could unlock entire behaviors.

Even though for most of the modding community this wouldn’t necessarily be considered “modding,” to me, it absolutely is. After all, the definition of modding is: the practice of modifying hardware, software, or games to alter their appearance, performance, or original functionality. Which is exactly what we were doing.

To a younger version of myself, that felt almost magical. I was just a player, a dreamer, performing “miracles” with numbers. My mind was on fire. I kept asking myself: “How is this even possible?” “Why hasn’t anyone gone down this path before?”

I’ve never considered myself a genius. But I’ve always taken pride, and still do, in being able to achieve things that, not long before, I didn’t even believe were possible.

At the time, I didn’t fully understand the meaning of TOU (Terms of Use). And even though Arsil’s policy allowed modifications and use in new projects, I faced criticism even before the official release. Still, I made sure to handle everything responsibly.

I spent days preparing the download page, creating the announcement video, and crediting Arsil at every step. I adapted the original concept to the vision I wanted to convey: leaving home would no longer feel like an effort. It would feel natural. That’s why, at the time, Module 1 was renamed to “Leave Home” instead of “Leave Home Ain’t Easy.” Nothing in the original scripts was altered. I had no intention of taking credit for work that wasn’t mine.

But the “cancellation” came anyway, if we can even call it that. The noise came. And even today, some of those moments are still used to try to discredit my work.

Less than 24 hours later, I removed Module 1 from Project Get Out, which was essentially Arsil’s mod. And unsurprisingly, the project still worked, because his mod wasn’t the backbone, it was simply what inspired me to begin.

Looking back now, that was the best thing that could have happened. Every criticism, every attack, every attempt to diminish me built something that no external validation ever could: discipline, consistency, and, in some way, obsession.

On May 23rd, I made a promise in a video: I would create bigger, better things, and nothing would stop me.

Today, more than 1,071 days later, I can measure that promise with concrete numbers:

• Over 1,074 XML/ITUN files manually edited by me, refining, deepening, and transforming how our Sims behave and react to the world, even if sometimes in very subtle ways.

• More than 1,254 default files created to give The Sims 3 a new visual identity.

• Over 371 original and modular objects built from scratch to expand the architectural possibilities of The Sims 3.

And that accounts for only about 85% of what I’ve produced, since I only counted what I’m currently using. In total, that’s at least 2,699 pieces of custom content.

Which means that over these three years, I maintained an average of about 2.5 to 3 creations per day. Every day. No exceptions.

And as if that weren’t enough, I also created 19 new worlds.

In the end, what started as doubt and rejection turned into consistency, growth, and a stronger creative identity. The truth is, people can take many things from us, but not what we build internally. I believe the results of our work come even before our words.

It’s important to make one thing clear: I didn’t do this to prove anything to others. I did this to build something that could stand on its own, day after day, and to prove to myself that even without expertise or the “necessary knowledge,” someone “less intelligent” could still build great things if they were stubborn enough not to stop.

Looking back, I feel like I fulfilled the promise I made on May 23rd, 2023.

And above all, I didn’t do this alone. And I didn’t do it only for The Sims 3.

Recently, as many of you know, I had the opportunity to contribute to inZOI. There are still many steps ahead, and I continue to approach this experience with the same mindset that guided me from the beginning: observe, understand, and contribute where possible.

What makes this moment meaningful to me is not just being part of something new, but recognizing how the same questions that once shaped Project Get Out are now part of a much larger conversation.

Discussions around autonomy, density, movement, and what truly makes a world feel alive are no longer limited to a single game or mod. They are being explored at a broader level, and having the opportunity to share my perspective in that space has been incredibly valuable.

Over the past months, I’ve had the chance to test, analyze, and provide structured feedback based on years of experimentation and observation. And while I’m only one voice among many, it’s been rewarding to see how some of those ideas continue to find their way into the game through ongoing updates.

In some cases, even features I initially believed would be too complex or unlikely to be implemented have been revisited and integrated by the team. And that, more than anything, reinforces something I’ve believed for a long time: good ideas don’t belong to a single person, they evolve through collaboration.

There is still a long road ahead, but being part of this process, even in a small way, is something I genuinely value.

Three years have passed. We’ve done so much since then.

I’m sharing this story to remind you: you will be criticized, reduced, challenged, and you will probably fail at many things. You will fall, get frustrated, and feel disappointed. But the one thing you must never do is stop.

Because the role of a creator is not to change the world. It’s to keep creating. No matter what.

When I look back at November and remember going through one of the worst moments of my life in terms of health… I could have stopped. I could have made excuses. But even then, I was still creating, still imagining, still reorganizing ideas.

I don’t wish that kind of moment on anyone. But I use it as an example to tell you this: don’t wait for life to try to take things away from you before becoming who you are.

Be it now. Do it now. Accept both the costs and the rewards of that decision.

The price is high. But the reward, even if silent and often lonely, feels like water in the desert. It quenches your thirst, but just enough to keep you moving forward instead of settling.

In short: it’s worth it.

So here is my thank you to every player who took a moment of their life to support me on Patreon, comment on my videos, join my streams, or even criticize me. Every interaction, positive or negative, pushed me forward. And in one way or another, all of you are part of this.

A special thanks as well to every creator who took the time to teach me what I know today:

• Math Modder, for introducing me to XML and ITUN modifications and for continuing to bring me great ideas and challenges.

• Musky and SuteFlower, for their patience and persistence in teaching me how to model in Blender and import into the game.

• Angela Esther The Sims, for her incredible tutorials, without which I would never have returned to Create-a-World.

And of course, I extend this thanks to every other creator who, throughout this journey, supported me, shared my work, sent messages, remixed my mods, or simply crossed paths with me in some meaningful way.

We don’t create anything alone. Each of us is a universe, a human being with dreams, desires, and purpose. Today, I celebrate this milestone early to remind you that the next 1,071 days will pass, and you are the only one who can decide where you’ll be when that day arrives.

I hope you’ll be somewhere great.

So remember: there is no “right time” to start. The time is now.

And there is only one moment when we are allowed to stop: those five minutes after you finish a world, a mod, a set, a project, or whatever it is, just to appreciate and feel it.

In that moment, you’re in paradise.

But right after that, you step down from your throne and go back to doing what you do best: Keep creating.

It never ends. It never stops. So make sure you are creating something you truly love, something that makes your heart resonate, something that only you can bring into the world.

I wish you all a magical and spectacular month of May.

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